It's getting harder and harder to find a savings account rate above 1% APY, but we've found them. This week, I'm going to spotlight Liberty Bank & Trust, a 22 branch bank headquartered in New Orleans. Liberty is offering a 1.31% APY savings account with a $50 minimum balance. That's pretty good considering the highest online rate is 0.95% APY and the average savings rate across the country is 0.20% APY.

Liberty Bank & Trust has a strange branch network, with a cluster of branches in the New Orleans area, a branch in Kansas City, MO, and one in Detroit, MI. View Liberty Bank & Trust's branch locations. This geographic spread is the result of several bank acquisitions, including the purchase of Home Federal Savings in Detroit, Michigan. Liberty has put together a nice video that highlights the bank and its history. The section on surviving and gowing after Hurricane Katrina was especially interesting - 6 of their branches flooded and the rest were looted.

The bank's financials look pretty sound. After spiking to 24% in 2009, the bank's Texas Ratio has dropped to 12.2%. The national average Texas Ratio is 20.28% and the lower the ratio the better (read more about the Texas Ratio). Liberty has just about doubled its assets from $290 million in 2006 to $571 million in 2011.

If you don't live near a Liberty Bank & Trust branch, BestCashCow can help you find a great savings rate in your area.

• Find other great savings rates in your local area by clicking on the "Savings" tab above.

New - Email Rate Updates for BestCashCow Readers

Users can now register to receive the best bank rates via email every Monday. You can choose to either receive the best rates for banks across the country, or you can receive the best rates for your state. You can cancel delivery at any time and also login to change which product rates you receive for which state. This email service is free. You can register for the service here.

I hope to eventually also have the weekly rate updates go out via this email service.

Previous Weekly Rate Deals

• January 30, 2012 - WYMAR Federal Credit Union Offering 2.27% APY 24-Month CD
• January 23- 2012 - Frederica Credit Union Offering 1.65% APY 12-Month CD - Open to All
• January 17, 2012 - Western Heritage Bank Offering 2-Year CD Paying 1.75% APY
• January 9, 2012 - Navy Federal Credit Union Offering 3.00% APY 20-Month IRA CD
• January 5, 2012 - Consumers Credit Union Offers 4.09% APY Rewards Checking Account - Nationally Available
• December 29, 2011 - Aflac Federal Credit Union Offering 2.41% APY Savings Account
• December 19, 2011 - CIT Bank and Its 1.15% APY 12-Month Achiever CD
• December 12, 2011 - Citizens State Bank of TX Offering 2.85% IRA CD
• December 5, 2011 - Digital Federal Credit Union Offering 2.86% APY CD - Nationally Available

Check back next Monday for a new bank deal. Email any deals you know about to ratedeal (at) bestcashcow.com. Feel free to also share them below. If you're a bank and have a great deal not listed on BestCashCow, register for access and add the deal to the site.

New- Remember, to receive FREE weekly emails updates with the best bank rates for your state, click here to register.

• Find the best savings account rates
• Find the best CD Rates

This is the first in an ongoing series to highlight the fastest growing banks from around the country. Why do this? Day after day the media focuses on the problems the big banks are having, but there are many small and community-based banks that are doing well and growing quickly. In the future, these may be the banks that provide you with your next mortgage, or business loan, or credit card. The doors of these banks are open and they are looking for qualified customers and are eager to expand.

Today, I'm going to start in my home state of Massachusetts. After crunching FDIC data, the fastest growing bank in the state is the Bank of Cape Cod, which saw its assets balloon from $22 million in 2006 to $150 million in 2011, a 581% increase. The bank is located in Hyannis, MA with a branch in Osterville, MA, and a third branch to open in Falmouth sometime in May. To learn more about how the bank grew so quickly, I spoke to the bank's President and CEO, Timothy Telman.

Tim stated that being a new bank, having been founded in 2006, was a big advantage. First, growth is naturally going to look large coming off a small base. But beyond that, a bank founded in the latter half of the last decade largely avoided a lot of the mortgage problems of its peers. The bank has no legacy issues and bad loans to distract it from growth and can stay nimble and move quickly.

In his opinion, the characteristics that have contributed to the bank's fast growth include an "entrepreneurial and dynamic culture, and a sales driven organization." He said the bank views itself like any other small business that must scrap to get ahead.

On the lending side, the Bank of Cape Cod is a niche player, focused mainly on commercial and industrial lending and franchise lending on Cape Cod. They do a minor amount of consumer lending but commercial is the big driver. They've embraced "fast but responsible growth." He stated that they have had no delinquencies since the bank opened; this has been good for the staff, since bad loans put a lot of wear and tear on employees.

As the head of a fast-growing bank, I wanted to get his thoughts on the economy and rates. Tim thought the economy was improving. Up until now, he's seen many clients sitting on the sidelines waiting for the bottom. In his eyes, it's a great time to buy. Rates are low and values have declined. Money is out there and he is seeing some of his patient and savvy clients begin to look at the opportunities.

I asked him what he thought rates would do over the next 12-24 months. He believes rates will remain stable over the next couple of years with no big changes. "If rates go up, it will push people out of the market," he said. While many banks dislike the low rates as they experience margin pressure, Bank of Cape Cod is fine with them. Their model works in a low rate environment.

I checked and the Bank of Cape Cod was in the top 5 banks in their area for CD rates. He said that the bank offers higher deposit rates because they have robust loan demand. He said banks offer higher rates either because they need the cash for loans, or because they are in financial trouble and need the cash for liquidity.

Much of this echoed the conversations I had with the leaders of Avenue Bank and John Marshall Bank , two of the fastest growing banks in the country. Community banks that avoided the mortgage mess, have defined markets, entrepreneurial cultures, and are optimistic on the future seem to have the formula needed to thrive in today's economic environment.

BestCashCow released its list of the Top 10 Safest States to Bank. The list, compiled from FDIC data ranks the ability of banks in each state to absorb delinquent loans using a metric called the Texas Ratio. History has shown that banks with high Texas ratios are more likely to close. The states below have, on average, the banks with the lowest Texas ratios.

The Top 10 Safest States to Bank Are:

1. Alaska
2. Nebraska
3. North Dakota
4. Massachusetts
5. New Hampshire
6. Iowa
7. Rhode Island
8. Vermont
9. Delaware
10. Utah

For the analysis and to remove distortions from mega-banks, only banks with less than $10 billion in assets were considered.

As in previous years, banks from the mid-West and the Northeast dominate the list. Both of these regions avoided the worst of the housing crash. States like North Dakota, Alaska, Iowa, and Nebraska have benefited from surging commodity prices and a resurgent domestic oil market. The Northeast, mindful of the banking crisis in the 1980s, avoided the worst of the mortgage and sub-prime excesses from 2002-2005.

Why Does Bank Safety Matter?

Even with FDIC coverage, it’s important to know the general safety of your bank for several reasons. In 2013 alone, thirteen banks have failed through May 14. In the event of a bank failure:

• Not all deposits are covered. According to the FDIC, up to 20% of deposits in U.S. banks are not covered by FDIC insurance because deposits are over the $250,000 limit. In the event of a bank failure depositors can, and have lost money.
• Great rates might not be honored. Banks that fail are often acquired by stronger institutions. But these institutions do not need to honor prior CD rates and other terms from the failed bank.
• It can be inconvenient. While the FDIC generally moves quickly when taking over a failed bank, there can be a several day disruption and lack of access to cash. Depending on the timing this could be a major or minor inconvenience. A depositor of a failed bank may also find themselves a member of another institution that they never chose and prefer not to bank with.

Then there is the small, yet real specter of a massive financial collapse, like what nearly happened in 2008. If one or two of the too-big-to-fail banks go under, the government may not have the cash to prop up other banks. This is essentially what happened in Cyprus, where massive bank failures bankrupted the government. Despite providing deposit insurance, Cyprus officials considered forcing losses on insured funds before the public outcry forced them to backpeddle. There are over $7 trillion in insured deposits and the government does not have the money to insure even half of it with today’s high public debt.

How to Check the Safety of Your Bank

Even if you live in one of the safest states, it’s wise to check the safety of your bank. There are several ways to do this. Sites like Bauer Financial offer ratings of every FDIC insured bank in the country. BestCashCow provides financial data and guidance on every FDIC insured bank and NCUA insured credit union in the United States.

Beyond checking on the health ratings of your bank or credit union, be sure to stay below FDIC or NCUA insurance levels.

No depositor has ever lost money from funds covered by FDIC or NCUA insurance. But housing values had never dipped on a national basis since the great depression until 2008. It pays to spend a few minutes understanding the financial position of the bank that you trust with your money.

Here is our list of the 10 Least Safe States to Bank.